Downward Spiral
by Kid-Vicious23
Summary: Riley & Jeff grew up as best friends. They went out for awhile then he had to leave for the WWF. Can they rekindle their love before Riley falls for someone else?
1. Chapter 1: Smackdown!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the WWF or their athletes. Also I don't own the poem in here. It is actually a genuine Jeff Hardy poem. He wrote it, not me. (a/n) Hey! This is my first wrestling fanfic. If you like this you might want to check out my Good Charlotte fan fiction called Good Charlotte Finds Their Gravity Girl. Enjoy!  
  
  
  
  
  
"And for the last time, no I will not go out with you!" Riley Stratford walked around the corner and into view. Then, an arm grabbed her back. The arm was revealed to belong to Christian.  
  
"Why? It's Edge isn't it? You like Edge better."  
  
"Well, yeah, but, that's not it."  
  
"Then what is it?" Christian asked still having a tight grip on Riley's right forearm.  
  
Trying to think of an excuse she mumbled out, "I'm, I'm sort of…involved. Yeah, involved, that's it."  
  
"With who? I'll kick his ass…"  
  
"Let go of me Christian." After Riley tugged on her arm a little and realized he wasn't going to let go, she did what she had to do, Riley kneed him right in the groin. Christian then let go and clutched himself as she ran away. Riley rounded another corner and looked back to see if he was following, and she ran right into a blue mass. Her body fell to the ground and she looked up into the beautiful emerald green eyes of Jeff Hardy.  
  
"I'm so sorry…" Jeff said as he knelt down and helped Riley to her feet.  
  
"It's all my fault," Riley said staring into his eyes. "I wasn't watching where I was going…"  
  
"Where were you going so fast?" Jeff asked in his southern accent.  
  
"Riley!…" you could hear Christian yell in the distance.  
  
"Look can you do me a huge favor?"  
  
"Anything…" Jeff replied staring back into her eyes.  
  
"Could you, uh, just, um, pretend to be my boyfriend?" Jeff gave Riley a somewhat skeptical look. "There's this guy…he just won't take no for an answer."  
  
"I understand. No problem. What do you want me to do?"  
  
"Oh crap. Here he comes… Um, just act all boyfriendy."  
  
"Here you are," Christian said walking a little hunched over. Jeff had his arm around Riley's waist, holding her tight, and she had her hand on his chest. "He's your boyfriend?!" Christian questioned.  
  
Riley looked at Jeff and he said, "Yeah. I'm her boyfriend. And she's my baby. Do you have a problem, Christian?" Jeff said Christian's name like in his music.  
  
"Yeah. I do. She shouldn't be with some punk ass hick smurf when she could be with a hot Canadian Champion of Europe. Plus, I speak European fluently." Jeff and Riley both looked at each other and burst out laughing. This got Christian angry and said heatedly, "If you two are really going out, then prove it."  
  
"How?" she asked.  
  
"Kiss." Jeff and Riley looked at each other. He pulled Riley closer to him, stared into her eyes, lifted her chin and planted his wet lips against hers as they closed their eyes. They kissed so passionately; you would actually think they were lovers. Their hands roamed over each other's bodies so rapidly like they couldn't get enough of each other. His one hand was all over her back and the other was on her cheek. The camera was showing only them and how much and long they were kissing. Their tongues caressed each other's and felt every crease and indent in their mouths. When they finally broke apart, and looked over to where Christian was standing, they found no one there.  
  
"Umm…I guess we got a little into it, huh Jeff?" Riley stated.  
  
"Yeah. Sorry about that. I got swept away in the moment. That happens to me a lot," Jeff apologized.  
  
"I better go…" Riley said smiling as she started to walk away.  
  
"Wait!" She stopped and turned around. "I don't even know you're name…"  
  
"It's Riley. Riley Stratford." Riley started to round the corner, then stopped and said, "Really, it was nice bumping into you, 'Smurf boy'." She then rounded the corner and the camera went back to a stunned, mesmerized Jeff just standing there looking after her.  
  
The cameraman said, "Cut" and Riley walked back from the corner she was just at. "You were really good," Jeff said. "If I was watching I would've thought we were very convincing."  
  
"Yeah. You're a great actor," she told Jeff feeling a little bit of sexual tension between them.  
  
Just as things were about to get a little out of hand, Adam came bursting out from the curtain all sweaty. He smiled when he saw Riley and came over where her and Jeff were standing. Adam put his arm around Riley's shoulder, leaning on her, panting a little. "So, how was your first television appearance, Riles?" Adam asked her showing off his beautiful pearly whites. Good God Adam is gorgeous!!!!! Riley thought to herself, especially all sweaty like that. She took a deep sigh. "Good" was all she could mutter out.  
  
"Well, I'll catch you two extremers later. I wanna get a shower." Adam walked back to his locker room to shower and change.  
  
"So…" Riley said awkwardly.  
  
"Yeah. So…" Jeff agreed.  
  
"There she is! Smackdown! girl. How'd ya like it?" Jason Reso, a.k.a. Christian, came up and asked Riley.  
  
"Oh I loved it. I didn't do much, but that's what I expected at the beginning."  
  
"I'm gonna get changed and head to the hotel. Ya need a ride?" Jeff asked Riley.  
  
"Nah. I can just catch a ride later."  
  
"Alright. See ya'll later." Jeff left down the hall to the general locker room where his stuff was.  
  
Now it was just Jason and Riley. "Don't let Vince know I told you this, but he's going to have you interfere in my match on Sunday Night Heat. And also I think he wants you to wrestle on Raw."  
  
"No way! He wants me to wrestle already!? Monday's only 6 days away. Wow."  
  
"Yeah, it takes some people longer till they wrestle. Well, better go and change."  
  
"Ditto. See ya later Jay." 


	2. Chapter 2: Jeff Hardy in all his Glory

(a/n) Wow! I just posted this story yesterday and already I have 2 reviews! I'm glad to know that you all are enjoying this.  
  
  
  
  
  
Riley walked down the halls and into her locker room…at least she thought it was hers… When Riley walked in, she opened the door to find Jeff Hardy in all his glory. Startled, Jeff covered himself with a towel, while an embarrassed Riley dropped her bag and covered her eyes.  
  
"Umm. Sorry. Thought. Locker room. Mine," Riley began her face reddening with each word.  
  
Jeff just burst out laughing interrupting her cluttered words. "C'mon now, Riley. It's not the first time."  
  
"But I was five!" she shouted.  
  
"So. Things've changed. Only this time I didn't get to see you naked..." Jeff said looking her up and down.  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, Riley saw Adam standing in the corner of the room with a huge grin on his face. Completely and utterly embarrassed, Riley grabbed her bag and stormed out of the room.  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
"C'mon now Riley. I was only joking…kinda," Jeff said 'kinda' just low enough so that she couldn't hear him through the hotel door.  
  
A hand appeared on Jeff's shoulder along with a voice saying, "So, whatcha do to her this time?" He got no answer so he said, "Are you two having another lovers quarrel?" inquired the voice as Jeff turned to face his older brother.  
  
"Hey Hardy!" you heard coming from the elevator. It was Gregory "the Hurricane" Helms. "Found this in the lobby. Looks like the crap you'd wear," he said pulling out a fishnet shirt.  
  
"Oh. Thanks Gregor--" Jeff said getting cut off as he reached for his bag.  
  
"No wait. What's this?" Gregory said pulling out green and purple hair dye. "You goin' multi again, Hardy?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Jeff mumbled. "Just lemme use your phone."  
  
"Why? Yours having technical difficulties?"  
  
Then heard was this loud thud as Riley threw something against the door. "No key," Jeff replied.  
  
Matt chimed in with, "You never did answer my question. What'd ya do?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Jeff, I've known you for how long? I can tell when you're lying."  
  
"I'll fix it."  
  
"C'mon. I'll let you in. You can use the phone, Citizen Hardy," Gregory joked as he got out his key and they walked down the hall.  
  
Gregory opened the door and Jeff made a beeline to the phone. He dialed their room number and heard Riley say, "Hello."  
  
"Riley, don't hang up," Jeff instructed. At that moment, he heard the phone slam down in his ear.  
  
"You always screw things up for us!" Matt said frustrated standing behind his younger brother. "For God's sake do you want me to call her?" Matt questioned agitated.  
  
"I'm not gettin' anywhere so, go for it."  
  
As Matt picked up the phone, Jeff walked towards the open balcony window. He walked onto the balcony and leaned over sizing up the leap to the balcony next to him-which just so happened to be their hotel room's.  
  
Jeff climbed up onto the railing and sized up the jump again as he heard a yell come from inside the room. "Jeff!" Matt yelled. "Don't get any stupid ideas! We're on the fourth floor."  
  
Just as Jeff began to wobble, he took the jump. He soared through the air, and landed roughly on two wooden chairs on the next balcony.  
  
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"Hello? Matt? What's happening?" Riley asked to dead air. Then, as if answering her question, there was an enormous crash on her balcony. Riley looked from where she was sitting towards the balcony and saw a crushed blue mass. "Not again," she stated to herself.  
  
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Matt looked at Gregory, shook his head and said, "Not again."  
  
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Riley opened the balcony door and kneeled down beside the shattered Jeff Hardy. Expecting some compassion he was startled by her harsh words saying, "What the hell were you thinking?!"  
  
"It didn't look that hard," Jeff stated with a stupid/silly grin.  
  
"What compels you to do these things?" Riley asked baffled.  
  
"It looked like fun. And besides, you wouldn't let me in." As if on cue, Jeff made the most adorable sad puppy dog eyes and pouted his bottom lip. In other words, he had a little boy face.  
  
"I was just about to let Matt in. Ugh! What am I going to do with you, Hardy?" Riley asked shaking her head smiling frustrated.  
  
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"Almost…got…it…" Matt said before dropping the credit card he was using to pick into their hotel room. After a bit of struggling, Matt finally picked the lock, and he burst into their hotel room to hear Riley saying from the balcony…  
  
"But I guess it was partially my fault for flipping out the way I did. No wait! It's not my fault. It's all your fault you big jerk!" Riley said heatedly as she punched Jeff hard in the arm, got up, and walked to one of the beds and sat down pouting.  
  
"Just wait a minute!" Matt shouted still having no idea what the whole fight was about. "Before anything else happens, what the hell did he do to you?"  
  
"Nothing," Jeff said limping into the room from the balcony. "It was just a joke. I was just teasing her."  
  
"Teasing?! You embarrassed me in front of…" Riley said trailing off.  
  
"It was only Adam," Jeff filled in the blank.  
  
"Only?!"  
  
Jeff snickered and asked, "What? Do you have a crush on the boy?"  
  
"No! No…no," Riley shouted.  
  
"Just one 'no' would've been enough," Jeff replied.  
  
With him saying that, Riley ripped the alarm clock out of the wall and threw it at Jeff. He ducked, having the alarm clock just miss him and smash into the wall.  
  
"Children, calm down," Matt refereed. "Guys, it's getting late and we need to get up early to leave." 


	3. Chapter 3: The Airport

***  
  
  
  
Matt stirred as he heard a pounding on the door. Matt rolled over into Jeff and pushed him off the bed so he could see what time it was. Matt got out of bed and hurried to the door. He opened it rubbing his eyes to find a worried Gregory Helms. "Are you guys still sleeping? I've been waiting for you three downstairs for the past half hour. We're going to miss the flight if you don't hurry your lazy asses. I'll meet you down in the lobby, hurry up."  
  
With that, Matt went to Jeff and smacked him up side his head. "Wake up!" he shouted. "Wake Riley and get your asses ready. We need to be in the lobby in a few minutes unless you want to walk to New York."  
  
"Hmm…" Jeff ponders. "So many ways to wake her up. Which one shall it be?" At that, Jeff bared an evil grin, yelled "Bonsai!" and jumped right on top of Riley.  
  
"Asshole," Riley grumbled as she kicked Jeff off of her. Jeff grabbed a hold of her leg and yanked her down with him. She just-so- happened to land right on top of Jeff. To get leverage, Jeff turned her over so he could be on top. Then, Riley flipped Jeff over her head so they were both lying on the floor. They both got up and Riley put him in a headscissors headlock. Jeff picked Riley's body up and slammed her down on the bed, yet again having him in the dominant position. Jeff saw Riley had a piece of hair on her face, so he brushed it away caressing her cheek. Just as the two started to become very comfortable, Matt interrupted the moment.  
  
"If you two could stop fooling around and do something productive like pack, we might actually still make the flight."  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
As the trio arrived at the airport with only five minutes to get to their terminal, Riley and Jeff were still arguing over whose fault it was that they were late.  
  
"If you wouldn't do such stupid things, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Riley argued.  
  
"Well, if you wouldn't have such a temper, we would've still had an alarm clock!" Jeff came back.  
  
"Well, if you hadn't of said that if front of Adam…" she trailed off.  
  
"Oh! Oh! It's ALL about Adam again, huh?"  
  
Riley brought her arm back to punch Jeff, as Matt stepped in between the two.  
  
"If I'm going to have to hear you two bicker all the way to New York, someone's going through the exit door!" 


	4. Chapter 4: Adam and Jealousy

***  
  
  
  
Matt, Jeff, and Riley arrived at their hotel in New York City. They went up to their room and they found yet again, only two beds. The three laid down their bags and Matt commented, "After a late morning and a long flight, I'm famished. Whatcha'll wanna eat?"  
  
"How 'bout Italian?" Riley offered.  
  
"Okay, Italian it is," Matt agreed.  
  
"Wait. How 'bout Chinese?" Jeff disagreed.  
  
"We ate what you wanted to last time!" argued Riley.  
  
"No we didn't!" Jeff disputed.  
  
"Yeah. Remember? We ate at that crappy pizza place," reminded Riley.  
  
"Wait. That was your idea."  
  
"No, it was yours!"  
  
"It was yours!"  
  
"Jeff, she's the lady, so we'll go where she wants to," Matt refereed.  
  
"You always choose her side! You're my flesh and blood, you should choose mine!" Jeff complained.  
  
"Well…" Riley thought. "Jeff could pass as a girl, so let's go with Chinese." Jeff just gave Riley 'the look.' He had no retort. If she was going to say he was a girl, then he'll act like one by giving 'the look.' "Well if you wouldn't paint your fingernails and dye your hair a new color each week…" Riley teased.  
  
"Okay. That's it. I'm choosing," Matt said tired of the childishness of Jeff and Riley. Matt left 'the children' alone and went to get the food.  
  
"Look what you did," Riley declared.  
  
"What I did? This was all you," Jeff informed.  
  
"Did not," Riley said shoving Jeff.  
  
"Did too," Jeff said shoving Riley right back. They were standing up and then Riley speared Jeff onto the bed. She was there lying on top of him when all of a sudden, there was a knock at the door.  
  
"I'll get it," Riley said climbing off Jeff. She opened the door and to her surprise it was Adam. "Oh. Hi Adam," Riley said with a huge smile.  
  
With those words, Jeff sprung from the bed, came to the door, and half smiled. "Hey Adam," he said dully.  
  
"Where's Matt? I need to talk to him about our match," asked Adam.  
  
"Um, he went to get food. But, you can came in and wait for him." Without waiting for an answer, Riley took Adam by the hand and pulled him into the room. While looking at Adam, Riley said, "Hey Jeff, why don't you get us all something to drink."  
  
"No thanks. I'm not thirsty."  
  
Riley smacked Jeff across the chest and said gritting her teeth, "Go get us something to drink."  
  
"But don't we have that whole bottle of Mountain Dew in the mini- fridge?"  
  
"I don't want Mountain Dew, I uh, want water."  
  
Jeff flipped on the water faucet and said, "There ya go."  
  
"GO!" she said as she pointed towards the door.  
  
"Fine, fine, I'll go," Jeff said scuffing his feet on the floor with his hands in his pockets as he walked to the door. He opened the door and found himself in the bathroom on purpose. He thought if he went in there, he could over hear the conversation between Riley and Adam.  
  
"Excuse me a moment," Riley said to Adam as she got up off the bed. She walked over to the bathroom door and opened. "Wrong door, moron. Let me direct you to the correct door." She pulled Jeff by the arm over to the RIGHT door. "There ya go," she said as she pushed him out and locked the door.  
  
"What was that all about?" Adam questioned, confused.  
  
"That? Nothing. I'm just thirsty," Riley replied. There was a moment odd silence. "So…um, how's your hotel room?"  
  
"Clean."  
  
"That's good." They then looked at each other. You know the look. (a/n: *Author sings* 'The look of love is in your eyes…') Adam stepped a little closer. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her up against his body. He leaned down to kiss her, just as the door opened. When Riley saw the door open, she got out of Adam's hold and plopped down on the sofa on the other side of the room. Matt walked in with Jeff on his tail. Adam went over to Riley and sat down on the sofa leaving a somewhat space in between them. Jeff then sat in that space to break the two up.  
  
"Sorry to interrupt the moment," Jeff said sarcastically.  
  
"Adam, if I would've known you were coming over, I would've brought you back something," Matt said setting the food on the table.  
  
"Nah. That's okay. I was just leaving."  
  
"Hey Adam. Didn't you come here to talk to Matt, eh?" he said 'Eh' mockingly with major jealousy.  
  
"So what'd you need to talk about?" Matt questioned.  
  
"Oh it's not important," Adam said walking out the door.  
  
Jeff put his arm around Riley's shoulder and said obnoxiously, "So…Riley!" Without saying a word, she walked to the bathroom and locked it. Riley slid to the floor with her back against the door. Riley took a deep long breath and sighed.  
  
Being bratty, Jeff started to eat his food without waiting for anybody. Matt went over to the bathroom door. "Come on Riley. You need to eat. You haven't eaten all day and it's…" Matt looked at his watch, "after 7." Riley just sat on the other side of the door silent. "It can't be that bad." Silence. Matt banged on the door and said, "Come on Riley. Come out."  
  
Jeff then yelled, "If she doesn't come out in 5 minutes, I'm eating her food!" Riley came out of the bathroom and sat down at the table not talking to anybody. Matt walked to the table also and sat down beside Riley.  
  
"So Riles, how ya liking New York?" Matt asked trying to break the ice.  
  
Mocking Riley, Jeff said, "Oh it's great with Adam here."  
  
Matt gave his version of 'the look' and stated, "You're not helping. Look, why don't you get us something to drink."  
  
"Oh gee golly. I get to play cabana boy again!" Jeff said sarcastically. Jeff got up and left the room to get some drinks. Riley then went and locked the door so Jeff couldn't get back in.  
  
"Why'd you lock the door?" asked Matt.  
  
"He was supposed to get drinks last time."  
  
"Last time?" a confused Matt inquired.  
  
With a starry look in her eyes she replied, "When Adam was here."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Then Gregory Helms voice was heard right outside the door saying, "Jeff what? No key again?"  
  
Riley looked at Matt then went to the door. She opened it surprising Jeff.  
  
"Uh…" Jeff scrambled for something to say while Riley just looked at him coldly. "You don't understand. I'm sor--" before he could finish Riley slapped him as hard as she could right across the face. The horrible sound echoed through the hall. Jeff took a step back and just looked at Riley in the eyes, shocked. Also shocked at what she did, Riley pushed Jeff aside and ran down the hall. Jeff still startled, just stood there.  
  
"Maybe you two shouldn't share a room anymore…" Gregory offered before he went back to his room.  
  
  
  
"What's going on with her?" Jeff asked still clutching his face.  
  
"Just leave her alone for a little while. She needs to figure some things out," Matt advised. 


	5. Chapter 5: Amore

***  
  
  
  
Riley sat on one of two benches that were back to back in the lobby, not knowing where to go. She heard someone sigh behind her and turned around to see who it was. To her amazement, it was Adam. Then, at that moment, Adam also turned around. When he saw who it was he did one of his signature oh-so-irresistible smiles. "Oh, hi Riley," Adam said still smiling. "Why are you down here? I thought you were eating with Matt and Jeff."  
  
"Well…things sort of changed," Riley muttered.  
  
"So that means you haven't eaten yet, right?" Adam asked with a hopeful smile.  
  
"Yeah?" she questioned.  
  
"So, you up for some Italian food?" inquired Adam with yet another big smile.  
  
"Hell yeah!" Riley answered excited. "I mean, sure, why not." With that, Adam grabbed Riley's hand and they walked out the hotel entrance.  
  
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"Why do you always have to start stuff with her, Jeff?" Matt asked as he bit into his cheeseburger.  
  
"Oh! It's always my fault! I'm always wrong! I'm the one who's always at fault!" Jeff said defensively.  
  
"Well, yeah. When it comes to this stuff. Face it, you can't leave the girl alone."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Come on! You're head over heels for this girl."  
  
Trying to hide his smile Jeff said, "You don't know what you're talking about."  
  
"Don't make me give you the 'I know when you're lying speech' again," Matt warned.  
  
"That's why I never talk to you about these things! You think you know more about me than I do."  
  
"A-ha! So I am right."  
  
"What. You took that wrong."  
  
"No, no, no. You can't backtrack. I'm right."  
  
"You just don't understand!"  
  
"Oh, I understand more than you think I do."  
  
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Adam and Riley were sitting in an Italian restaurant called 'Amore.' There were candles everywhere and couples in love surrounded them. There was even a bouquet of flowers on the table.  
  
"So I noticed you and Jeff are really close. Is…anything…um…going on there?" Adam asked nonchalantly.  
  
"No…never really thought about it before. He tends to make an ass out of me in front of people that I care about like…" she caught herself before revealing her feelings.  
  
"Who else has he embarrassed you in front of besides me?" Adam asked a little confused.  
  
Caught off guard, Riley had to quick make up a story. "Well…there was this one time…when we were younger…he dyed my hair all different colors the night before the Spring Formal."  
  
"I bet you still looked good," Adam complemented.  
  
"Thanks," Riley blushed. "So, does anything embarrassing happen to you in front of your girlfriend?" questioned Riley playing it cool.  
  
"Maybe something would happen if I had a girlfriend," he answered.  
  
"Oh…so you're um…single?"  
  
"Yeah. Why, are you too?"  
  
"It would appear so," Riley answered with a cocky grin.  
  
"So if I were to ask you to do something tomorrow, you would be able to?"  
  
"Well, I don't have any plans, so I would be free," she smiled deviously.  
  
The waiter then came with the check and set it on the table. Riley reached into her pocket to get out some many to help pay the bill when Adam smiled and said, "Wait. This one's on me."  
  
"But…"  
  
"You can owe me," Adam said schemingly.  
  
Adam and Riley left the restaurant and started walking back to the hotel. Adam looked over at Riley and noticed she had her arms crossed and was shivering a little. He took his coat off and put it around her shoulders. Riley looked at him and they both smiled. 


	6. Chapter 6: TV, Sleep, and Adam

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"Where is she? She should've been back by now," Jeff said pacing.  
  
"Don't worry. She's a big girl now. She can fend for herself," assured Matt.  
  
"But it's New York. It's a big city full of muggers and…stuff. She could get lost."  
  
"It's okay. She's probably just hanging in the lobby waiting for you to stop being an ass."  
  
"Well I wouldn't be such an ass if she wouldn't always be hanging around…" Matt gave Jeff a skeptical look. "Nevermind. I'll go check the lobby," Jeff said changing the subject.  
  
Jeff left the room, got on the elevator, and went to the first floor. He got to the lobby and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Riley and Adam walk in together smiling. Jeff approached Riley and said, "Where the hell have you been?! We've been worried sick about you!"  
  
"I'm a big girl, Jeff. And besides, Adam had everything under control," she said like that on purpose to make Jeff jealous.  
  
"Okay. It's time for you to come upstairs now," Jeff said tugging on her arm.  
  
"No," Riley said pulling her arm out of his grasp. "I think I'm going to hang out with Adam a little more."  
  
Shocked, Jeff came up with, "Matt's worried sick. You have to at least come up and let him know you're alright."  
  
"Okay, okay. C'mon Adam," Riley said grabbing Adam's arm.  
  
"Adam can stay down here and wait for you."  
  
Riley gave him a skeptical look and stated, "If I go, Adam goes."  
  
"I can wait down here," Adam said. "It's not a problem."  
  
"Exactly," Jeff agreed. "Now come on Riles," Jeff said pulling her by her arm.  
  
"Ugh! I'll be right back," Riley promised as the elevator door closed.  
  
"God Jeff! What the hell is your problem?!" Riley shouted in the enclosed elevator doors.  
  
"Worrying about you. That's my problem!"  
  
"Worrying about me? I was safe with Adam."  
  
"Well we didn't know that! We didn't know where you were!"  
  
"And whose fault is that? If you wouldn't be such an ass!"  
  
"When was I being an ass?"  
  
"Oh just for the past 2 days."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"What do you think I mean, eh?"  
  
"Oh, that? I was just kidding around. And why were you taking so much offense to that?" he asked as they walked down the hall.  
  
"It was just that and the whole locker room thing was so unnecessary."  
  
"It's just so odd that you now befriended him," Jeff said sarcastically about how Riley's recently always hanging around Adam.  
  
"He was only being nice. He saw that I was lonely and hadn't eaten yet, so he took me to dinner. And why are you so interested in my love life all of a sudden anyways?"  
  
Totally avoiding the question, Jeff opened their hotel room door and yelled into Matt. "Look what I found!"  
  
"You didn't have to bring her all the way up here. You could've just told me," Matt replied.  
  
"Wait a minute! I thought you said Matt was worried sick, to quote you. Why the hell did you drag me all the way up here when you could've just told him!"  
  
"I needed proof."  
  
"Oh yeah. You needed proof. Sure, uh-huh. That's why Matt just said you could have told him." Jeff was just about to say something when Riley cut him off with, "That's it. Whatever. I'm sick of your games, Hardy. I'm going back down to Adam." Riley walked down the hall and into the elevator.  
  
Jeff went to chase after her when Matt stopped him and said, "Just let her alone with Adam."  
  
"Are we sure we can trust him alone with her?"  
  
"He's Adam. What's he gonna do? And for the millionth time, she's a big girl. She can take care of herself."  
  
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Riley was venting out loud as she waited in the elevator. "God! Why does Jeff always try to control my life like that? He always knows when not to stay out of a situation. He doesn't even know what's going on between me and Adam. Oh, wait. What is going on between me and Adam? What am I going to say to him? What are we going to do? How am I going to explain Jeff's behavior to him?" just as she said that, the doors to the elevator opened and she was in the lobby again.  
  
When she stepped out and looked up she saw Adam signing autographs for some girls. She walked over and interrupted their conversation with, "Adam, are you ready?"  
  
"Yeah. Hopefully I'll see you girls at one of the shows, to cheer me on." He gave them a smile as he turned his full attention to Riley. "So, what do you wanna do?"  
  
"Nothing that takes a lot of energy. I'm getting a little tired."  
  
"Do you wanna go up to my room and watch some TV or something?"  
  
Riley smiled and said, "Okay." Adam put his arm around Riley's shoulder and they walked to the elevator.  
  
They got in the elevator and Adam turned to Riley saying, "So Riley, what did you think of dinner?"  
  
Riley said to him, "It was fun, but I felt a little odd that it was just us and a bunch of couples..."  
  
"Well maybe you will get used to it if we go more often…" As Adam finished the sentence, Riley pulled him closer and snuggled close to him, laying her head on his chest. He put his arms around her waist and they just held each other for the rest of the elevator ride.  
  
They got off the elevator and Riley followed Adam to his room. They got in and he said, "TV?"  
  
"Sure. As long as it involves resting on the bed."  
  
"Whatever you want." He pointed to the bed waiting for her to get comfy but she didn't move. "What are you waiting for," Adam wondered.  
  
"You." He looked at her strangely. "To lay down." He gave her another strange look but he laid down. She went over to the bed and laid down right next to him resting her head on his chest. He turned on the TV, and then put his arms around her, holding her tight. Within minutes Riley was out cold in Adam's arms. Adam kissed Riley on the forehead and turned off the TV. I can get used to this, Adam thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep. 


	7. Chapter 7: Explanations and Almost True ...

(a/n) Come on people! Review and make me feel special!!!  
  
  
  
  
  
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Jeff jolted awake remembering the events of the other night. He looked over at the bed beside him and realized it was empty. Jeff totally flipped out and worried he said, waking Matt up, "Where the hell is she? What the hell did he do to her?"  
  
Matt rolled over and said, "It's Adam, he wouldn't do anything. It probably got late and she just fell asleep at the drop of a dime. Remember when we were kids and she used to do that all the time at our house?"  
  
Jeff went out of their room and headed straight for Adam's. He pounded on the door and found Jason on the other side. "What are you doing here? Where's Riley?"  
  
"Oh, they left for breakfast a little while ago. They should be back in a hour or so," Jay responded. "You can wait here if you want," he offered. Jeff walked past Jason and sat down on one of the two beds.  
  
"So, where exactly did they go?" Jeff asked casually.  
  
"I dunno, why are you so interested anyways?"  
  
"Just wondering. She never came back last night, is all."  
  
"Well she was asleep in Adam's arms when I got here."  
  
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"I'm so happy that I ran into you in the lobby yesterday," Riley said before taking another bite of her bacon.  
  
"What were you doing in the lobby anyhow?" Adam asked before taking a drink of his orange juice.  
  
"Where should I start? Jeff is always being such an ass. Embarrassing me in front of everybody. Especially people like you who I…" Riley said trailing off.  
  
"Especially people like me who you what?" Adam inquired.  
  
"I didn't say I liked you…what are you talking about?"  
  
"Wait a minute, you like me?"  
  
"Wait. I didn't say that. When did I say that?" Riley said covering her slip up.  
  
"Huh? You just said it a minute ago."  
  
"Um, you must've heard me wrong."  
  
Adam completely confused, gave up and said, "Okay. Whatever."  
  
"Anyways, like I was saying. He was being such an ass. But I kind of feel bad for slapping him across the face…But then again I don't, 'cause he was spying on us," Riley rambled.  
  
"When did all of this happen?" asked Adam trying to figure out the details.  
  
"Right before I came down to the lobby."  
  
"Why'd you slap him?"  
  
"Because he was spying on us. He was eavesdropping on our conversations. Plus he was being an ass."  
  
"Why would he even care about our conversations?"  
  
"That's the whole point. I have no idea. He's been acting strange lately."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"He's just been really involved in my life in like the past two days. He always wants to know where I am, what I'm doing, who I'm with. He's acting like my father."  
  
"He's just being a concerned friend."  
  
"He's taking the concerned part to far and it's more like controlling."  
  
"Have you tried mentioning this to him?"  
  
"It only has started recently. Only since I started…"  
  
"Only since you started what?"  
  
"Ever since I started really hanging out with you," Riley finished.  
  
"Do you want me to talk to him?"  
  
"Nah. That's okay. I'll figure something out."  
  
Adam reached across the table and took Riley's hands in his. "You know I'm here for you if you ever need me. No matter what, I'll be there."  
  
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Jeff and Jason sat on one of the beds talking and watching TV in Jay's hotel room. All of a sudden the door swung open and in came Riley and Adam laughing.  
  
"Where the hell were you two?"  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"You didn't come back last night. We were worried."  
  
"You're always worried. Why don't you just stay out of my…"  
  
"But I really…about…you…" Jeff gave up and walked out the door.  
  
"Okay that was just weird," Adam stated. 


	8. Chapter 8: Explanations of the Past and ...

(a/n) Yes I know, this chapter is short…but oh well. You'll get over it.  
  
  
  
  
  
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Jeff walked into the locker room after his match during that night's house show. Sitting there on the one bench was Adam tying his boot and looking up at Jeff. "Jeff, I think we need to talk about how you've been treating Riley lately."  
  
"Did she put you up to this?"  
  
"No, she didn't. I'm just trying to help."  
  
"If you want to help, stay away from her."  
  
"But all I want is for her to be happy."  
  
"She was perfectly happy without you."  
  
"What's with you Jeff? You've been acting really strange lately."  
  
"I just don't want to see her get hurt again, that's all."  
  
"What do you mean, 'again'?" Adam asked confused.  
  
"I don't really like talking about it."  
  
"If you don't want me to hurt her so badly, then you should tell me."  
  
"Don't say anything to Riley about me telling you 'cause it'll bring up bad memories. It happened back when I was 19 and Riley was 17. We were in a really serious relationship together for about 6 months. Ya know how Matt and I've had dreams to be wrestlers ever since and well…I just had to leave her. I left her a note saying something like: 'I'm sorry I had to do this but you have to understand that we finally got our shot in the big time. This may be our only chance to get our faces out there. I know leaving you here may be the biggest mistake in my life, but I feel I need to do this. I'm sorry I didn't get to give you a real good-bye. But you just looked so angelic sleeping there. I love you, Riley. Yours truly, Jeff. Ours truly, This Life. P.S. Once we get our feet planted we'll help you make your way up too.'"  
  
"Wow," Adam said speechless.  
  
"I still feel that's the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life. Every day I regret leaving her behind. I wake up just wishing things were back to the way they used to be."  
  
"I assure you I won't make the same mistake you did. Riley means the world to me."  
  
"Good. And as of now, this conversation never happened." 


	9. Chapter 9: Nothing to Wear/Preparing for...

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Riley flustered, and running around the room screamed, "I have absolutely nothing to wear!"  
  
Jeff walked out of the bathroom and stated, "But you packed 3 suitcases for one week." Riley reached into her bag and threw a black pump at him. Jeff caught the shoe, walked over to the bed where her clothes were, and picked up a red spaghetti strap mini dress with slits up each side. "Wear this, Adam'll like it."  
  
"Wait a minute. You certainly changed your tune quickly. What happened?"  
  
"Nothing. Can't I be helpful for once?"  
  
Riley looked at him suspiciously, but then saw what time it was and said, "Shit. I'm gonna be late. I have to get ready." With that Riley walked towards the bathroom grabbing the red dress on her way. After a minute she opened the door and Jeff walked in. Riley tried several different hairstyles to find the perfect one. She pulled her hair up into a French Twist and looked in the mirror to see Jeff standing behind her looking her up and down.  
  
"Wear it down with the ends curled. Adam'll like it," Jeff advised.  
  
Riley turned to Jeff and gave him a half-confused/half happy smile. "What's going through that mind of yours, Hardy?" Jeff gave no answer. All he did was give a huge smile. "Hardy, I've known you for 21 years, and I still don't understand you."  
  
Matt peeked into the bathroom and said, "No one does," then left again.  
  
Jeff walked out of the bathroom as Riley picked up the curling iron. Before she started to curl her hair, she checked to make sure Jeff wasn't watching. "Hardy, what the hell are you doing?" Nothing. Just silence.  
  
A couple minutes later, as she puts down the curling iron, Jeff comes in with a pair of red stappy heels. He dropped the shoes on the floor and looked up at her. "Nice hair," he commented.  
  
As he walked out of the room, Riley yelled to him, "You're really starting to freak me out, Nero." Riley closed the door. She shook her head, stared at herself in the mirror, but then continued to get ready.  
  
Jeff walked into kitchen area and opened the mini-frig. "What's up with you, Jeff? You're not being a…an ass," Matt questioned.  
  
"Well, after a talk with Adam-"  
  
"-Why the hell are you interfering with this?"  
  
"But Adam came up to me," Jeff explained.  
  
"Then why are you acting this way?"  
  
"After talking to him I remembered promising Riley that I'd always do what would make her happy. And after telling the story of how we left her, I realized I have a lot of making up to do. Besides, her being with Adam seems to make her happy."  
  
Matt shocked said, "Wait, you told him?"  
  
"Well I thought he needed to know."  
  
"Are you sure that was a wise idea?"  
  
"It seemed like one at the time."  
  
"Do you realize that if you have any part in hurting her you're gonna beat yourself up again?"  
  
"Yeah, I know. I haven't dated anyone since because no one compares to her."  
  
Before Matt could comment about Jeff's previous statement, Riley walked out of the bathroom door. Their mouths dropped to the floor as she asked, "So how do I look?"  
  
With Jeff speechless, Matt said, "You look amazing, Adam's gonna love it."  
  
There was a knock at the door. "That's me," Riley said. She walked up to Jeff and gave him a hug. She whispered in his ear, "I don't know what's up with you, but thank you." She gave him a kiss on the check, grabbed her jacket, as she walked to the door and said, "Bye guys."  
  
"Bye," Matt said back. Jeff just stood there still dazed.  
  
Riley opened the door and Adam was standing there on the other side wearing black leather pants, black boots, and a silver short-sleeved button down silk shirt and a smile. She walked up to him and gave him a big hug. Adam hugged her back as he gave Jeff a confused look.  
  
"Why don't you come in for a minute," Matt offered. The two walked in and Adam closed the door.  
  
"Hey Jeff," Adam greeted.  
  
Jeff got out of his daze and responded with, "Hey."  
  
"Why don't you two take a seat on the couch," Matt offered again.  
  
Riley and Adam sat down. There was nothing but awkward silence as Matt and Jeff pulled up two chairs. "So Adam, what do you have planned for tonight?" Matt broke the ice.  
  
Adam smiled and said, "I'd rather not say because it's a…um, a surprise." Riley turned to Adam and gave him an inquiring look. He gave her an irresistible smile and said, "You'll find out soon enough."  
  
"Maybe we should get that started then?" she asked Adam.  
  
"Oh leaving us already. I see how it is," Matt stated.  
  
"Well I have a lot planned and we're gonna be late."  
  
"Oh really?" Riley asked. They got up and Adam grabbed Riley's hand leading her to the door. "See ya, guys," Riley said as they exited the hotel room.  
  
Sitting beside the doorway were a dozen roses, which Adam proceeded to pick up and hand them to Riley. "I didn't want to tell you this in there, but you look absolutely amazing."  
  
Riley looked down at the ground, then looked up at Adam and smiled, blushed, and said, "Thanks," all at the same time. They walked down to the exit doors of the hotel and Riley said, "I'll get us a cab."  
  
"No need," Adam commented as he pointed towards a black stretch limo.  
  
Riley followed Adam's extended hand and she was speechless. "Oh…my…god, Adam…. I have no idea what to say." 


	10. Chapter 10: The Date

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Adam and Riley were standing in front of a waiter at 'Amore.' The waiter led the two to a table. "But isn't this the same table from last time we were here?" Riley asked.  
  
"Yeah, it is. I made a special request." Adam responded. Riley giggled the tiniest bit but managed to catch herself as Adam just smiled.  
  
After an awkward moment of silence, the two ordered their meals and Adam asked, "So does it still feel strange?" Riley gave him a confused look. "To be here among all these couples?"  
  
Riley gave a half smile and said, "No, not really."  
  
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Jeff sat on the edge of his bed looking at a picture. It was a picture of him and Riley together. It was taken a couple of days before he left. Right beside him was a poem that he wrote for her. Jeff really meant to give it to her before he left. He just couldn't bring himself to.  
  
"Are you looking at that again?" Matt asked walking up to him.  
  
"What are you talking about? There's no picture," Jeff said as he hid the picture under his white wife beater.  
  
"You gotta let go, man."  
  
"What are you talking about? I have let go."  
  
"Jeff, little brother, don't make me give you The I've Known You For How Long?/ I Can Tell When You're Lying speech."  
  
"I'm not lying. We've been broken up for 4 years, 5 months, and 11 days. I think I'm over her by now."  
  
"Yeah, and you knowing the exact date shows truly how much you're over her."  
  
Jeff just stared down at the picture in his hands. Moments later he broke down, let everything loose, and just started crying. "You know what? I knew it was a mistake leaving her behind. I knew I'd regret this…forever," Jeff started still crying. He continued with, "I knew she'd find someone better. I knew I'd be left in the dust. I knew I had the greatest thing that life could give. For this, for all of this. I'd give all this up. All my dreams. Everything I have. Just for one more night with her." Jeff continued rambling as Matt sat down on the bed beside him comforting his little brother.  
  
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As the limo pulled up to a small bar Riley asked, "What's this?"  
  
"Oh," Adam replied. "I just found out from a friend that you like a certain band who just so happens to be playing her tonight."  
  
They got out of the limo and walked through the doors of the legendary CBGB. As Riley took off her leather jacket and heard the first few cords of "The Way You Like It", she realized who the band was. Riley turned to Adam with a huge grin on her face and a sparkle in her eyes and said excitedly, "Oh my god!!! Adema?!" He turned to her and just smiled. Riley jumped up, kissed Adam on the cheek, and gave him a huge hug. Riley gave him a Can I go up there? look. As his smile got bigger, he nodded his head yes. Riley grabbed Adam by the hand, and they worked their way to the very front.  
  
As they reached the front, the song hit the chorus and Riley started to sing along. "Sometimes I only remember the days when I was young. Nowadays no one remembers when they were young and stupid. The way you like it. Come on baby help me, some one to confide in. I'll get inside you. Now you're beggin' me to stay…"  
  
Throughout the rest of the show, Riley and lead singer Marky Chavez kept making eye contact as she sang along with the songs. As the crowd started to clear out and Riley went to go get her jacket Adam stopped her. "Where are you going?" Before she could answer Adam said, "I've still got some more surprises up my sleeve." She gave him a questioning look as he grabbed her hand and lead her towards the backstage area.  
  
After talking to the security guards Adam brought Riley in the back and he knocked on the first door he saw. The door opened and on the other side was Tim Fluckey, one of Adema's guitarists, with a Budweiser in his left hand. "Oh, hey Adam. C'mon in. Who's your friend?" He asked giving Riley a smile and stepping back so they could enter.  
  
"This is Riley. She's a big fan of yours."  
  
"Oh really?" Tim asked looking Riley up and down with a big grin on his face. Riley blushed and smiled uncomfortably as she scooted closer to Adam.  
  
Marky walked up to the three wearing black leather pants, a tight black wife beater, and a white towel around his neck. Marky gave Riley a little cocky smile and a nod of the head as he said, "Hey. I'm Marky."  
  
Riley looked down at the floor then looked back up at Marky smiling saying, "I know. Riley…Stratford…is me."  
  
After a couple of hours hanging out with the band, Adam got up to go to the bathroom. He left the room leaving Riley alone with the band. Tim got up and sat in Adam's seat, very close to Riley. You could tell he was drinking when he slurred out, "You know what would look good on you?" He pointed to himself as he said, "Me." Tim moved in closer putting his arm around Riley.  
  
"Not too smart of an idea, Tim," Marky said as he shook his head 'no'. Tim got up and walked over to Marky where they started talking.  
  
Just as that happened, Adam came back in. Adam walked over to Riley and said to her, "I think we should get going because I have one thing left planned." He and Riley went over to the guys and Adam said, "Thanks for the tickets and everything, man."  
  
Riley extended her hand to Marky and he shook it leaving a piece of paper in her hand when she withdrew it. When she looked up at him he gave her a flirtatious smile. Adam saw the smile Marky gave Riley and he rushed her out of there.  
  
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Jeff and Matt were still sitting on the bed in the same spots. "You know, I tried. I really did. I tried to get over her. Move on. I haven't dated anyone since her because no one even comes close." Jeff broke down again with emotions spilling everywhere. "I miss her, man. Everything about her. The way she smelled. The way her hair felt. How perfectly her fingers entwined with mine. The way she used to call me 'Smurf', 'Skittles', and 'Rainbow Brite'. The way she knew exactly the right thing to say. How she could always make me laugh no matter how down I was. The way I felt I could be 100% me around her and not be judged. The feeling of her in my arms. The way she looked when she slept. The way the candles lit her face. I miss the way she looked at me. The feeling of her heart beating against my chest when she slept. Those spontaneous trips to the beach. I remember the first time I realized I wanted to be with her. We were wrestling on the trampoline in the backyard and I pinned her. I was teasing her because I beat her. I started tickling her and she grabbed my arms to try to stop me. We gazed into each other's eyes and just let go. We kissed, for the first time. And man, I gotta tell ya, it was amazing. The feeling…it was just so…indescribable. Ever since we've been apart I've never felt anything as good as her kiss. Not even receiving the pop from 6,000+ fans feels as good as that."  
  
Matt put his right hand on Jeff's back and said, "I think it's about time you give her that poem you've been meaning to."  
  
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The limousine pulled up to a deserted beach and Riley again asked, "What's this?"  
  
Adam turned his head to look at her and said, "It's just the last stop of our date.  
  
Riley looked at her watch and questioned, "At 5:00 in the morning?"  
  
He smiled and grabbed her hand leading her onto the beach. Adam led her to where he had a blanket all spread out already. "I was thinking," he said as he motioned for Riley to take a seat on the blanket, "since we have a day off that we could watch the sun rise over the ocean." Adam laid down and Riley rested her head on his chest snuggling up close because of the chilly Hampton air.  
  
The sun started to rise as the beams of light bounced off the breaking waves. Riley lifted her head and looked into his eyes. She leaned in for the kiss and just before her lips reached his Adam interrupted with, "Wait a minute. This doesn't feel like the right time." Riley didn't know what to think. Embarrassed, she grabbed her shoes and headed for the limo. Adam got up, grabbed the blanket, and chased after her.  
  
The ride back to the hotel was in complete silence. Adam made some attempts to talk to Riley but she wouldn't say a word. 


	11. Chapter 11: Sound Asleep

(a/n) I'm a somewhat dirty little girl. This chapter is rated NC-17. I don't know if it really should be because I don't go into that much detail, but oh well. I just wanted to be safe. You were forewarned…  
  
  
  
  
  
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Riley opened their hotel room as quietly as she could so she wouldn't wake anybody. When she came in and set her keys on the one table she saw a note with her name on it. Riley opened the note and it read:  
  
My Dearest Riley,  
  
I know I probably should have given you this poem  
  
before I left. It's been a while since I wrote it, but  
  
all the words are still true.  
  
I Love You,  
  
Jeff  
  
P.S. How was Adema?  
  
Riley opened the other piece of paper to find a poem:  
  
Sound Asleep  
  
Sitting on the porch…scared to ring the bell.  
  
I wait for you to see me…I sit scared as hell.  
  
Rocking in the chair…hoping the squeaks bring you near.  
  
I wait for you to hear me…I'm alone so filled  
  
…with fear.  
  
Pacing on the hardwood…not knowing what to say.  
  
When you see me pacing…when you make your way.  
  
Laying on your welcome mat…not feeling very welcome.  
  
I guess you're in there sleeping…you're so peaceful  
  
…when you sleep.  
  
Freezing on the outside…so cold but yet so sweet.  
  
Your body's on the inside…I'd kill to feel your heat.  
  
Dialing on my phone…the number of your phone.  
  
I can't mash send…so now I'm  
  
…going home.  
  
Walking towards my car…I'm down about myself.  
  
Getting in my car…I want to kill myself.  
  
You make me feel complete…At the same time I'm me.  
  
I'm so always not complete…without you I'm  
  
…never free.  
  
Free from depressive states…of mind, body, and soul.  
  
Free from sad days with me…free from sad  
  
…days alone.  
  
Turning my ignition switch…bright lights start shining through.  
  
My eyes are blinded momentarily……Holy Shit…  
  
…It's you!  
  
Sitting on the porch together…not worried about the bell.  
  
We're looking in each other's eyes…  
  
I'm no longer scared as hell.  
  
This night will be a memory…  
  
One that's sure to keep.  
  
I didn't want to wake you…  
  
I thought you were  
  
Sound asleep.  
  
With her emotions overpowering her, Riley went over to Jeff and planted her lips against his. It wasn't a hard kiss. It was gentle, but still enough to wake him. Riley pulled away and Jeff opened his eyes. He sat up a little and asked, "Am I dreaming?" Riley just smiled and kissed him again. This time it wasn't as gentle as Jeff realized he wasn't dreaming. It got more and more passionate as it went on. Riley scooted up onto the bed lying down as Jeff climbed on top of her. He laid down with Riley underneath him, never breaking their kiss once. Jeff was only wearing his cotton blue plaid boxers and the white wife beater from earlier. Riley's hands roamed Jeff's back feeling every crease and indent. They reached up inside his wife beater breaking their kiss just long enough to get it up over his head. They went back to kissing as Jeff began to kiss down along Riley's neck. He then slid the straps of her dress down and kissed her shoulders. "I love you Riley. I love you so much…I'm so sorry about leaving you." He then tugged my dress down a little in the front and started to kiss my cleavage.  
  
"Oh Jeff. I love you too. I always have."  
  
"Really?" Jeff asked in a hopeful voice. I nodded my head quickly. He smiled and put his hands on my dress. He looked at me with eyes that asked, 'Can I?' I nodded my head and he slid my dress down leaving me in a black silk strapless bra and black silk panties. I quickly kicked my shoes off and pulled him into a passionate kiss. We sat up a little as Jeff wrapped his arms around my back and undid my bra. He slid it off and laid me back down. He smiled at the sight of me before kissing me again. He began to massage my breasts and I moaned loudly into his mouth.  
  
I tugged on his boxers indicating that I wanted them off. He smiled and slid his boxers down and off. I smiled and bit my lip at the sight of Jeff Hardy in all his glory. He then tugged on my panties. I lifted myself up and took them off. We started to kiss passionately again. "Are you sure you want to do this? Are you sure you want to do this with me?"  
  
"Yes Jeff. I love you so much. I want you." He smiled before he placed himself inside of me. We made passionate love the rest of the night and fell asleep in each others arms. 


	12. Chapter 12: The After Morning/ Getting B...

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Matt came back at around 10:30 from eating breakfast. He opened the door to their hotel room to find Riley and Jeff in bed together. When he saw that Jeff was shirtless as was Riley because she was lying on Jeff's chest, Matt dropped the leftover food he had in his hands. "Holy Shit! What the hell did you two do?!" Matt yelled. Stirred awake from the yelling Riley and Jeff looked to see what the commotion was about. When Riley saw that it was Matt she blushed and became completely embarrassed. She grabbed the only sheet that was covering her and Jeff, wrapped it around herself, and ran into the bathroom. Jeff quickly reached for a large pillow and covered himself with it. "What were you thinking, Jeff? How could you act so irresponsibly?"  
  
"It…it sorta just happened."  
  
"Just happened? Just happened? How can sex just happen?" Matt interrogated.  
  
"My emotions got the best of me. I was swept away in the moment. Wait a minute…why should I explain myself and my actions to you? Why do you care?"  
  
"What if something would've happened? Knowing you, you were careless. You could've ruined everything. All of our hard work could've just gone down the drain." Matt turned his back a moment giving Jeff a chance to slip on his boxers.  
  
"What do you mean everything? I already told you I would give everything up for her. And this may be my second chance," Jeff said pulling on his jeans.  
  
"So what? You're gonna throw my life away too just because you think you stand a second chance?!"  
  
"If you really care, like a brother should, then you'll realize how much she means to me," Jeff commented pulling on his wife beater.  
  
"Well if you really care about anyone but yourself, you'll realize that this has been our dream forever and you shouldn't just waste it on some girl."  
  
Jeff said offended, "Some girl? Riley isn't just some girl I met and decided to get with. We've known her all our lives."  
  
"But this is our dream. And you're just gonna screw things up like you always do." Jeff didn't even say a word about Matt's last comment. He grabbed his shoes and stormed out of the room, slamming the door, leaving Riley still in the bathroom.  
  
Matt knocked on the bathroom door and informed Riley with, "You can come out now…Jeff left."  
  
All different thoughts ran through Riley's head: I must've been that bad. Jeff left me here. I must've been that bad. It's all my fault Jeff left. I must've been that bad. I'm the reason he left. I must've been that bad.  
  
"Riley, please come out…I just wanna……talk to you."  
  
"Hand me some clothes first."  
  
Matt went and got some clothes, knocked on the door, and Riley's hand came out and grabbed them. She got dressed and Matt asked, "Will you come out now?" Riley slowly opened the door and came out with an embarrassed/ashamed look on her face. "Sit down," Matt instructed. "We need to talk." Riley sat down keeping her head low like a scolded child. All of a sudden Matt's calm demeanor completely vanished as he did a 360 on her. "What were you thinking?! How could you do this to me?! You could've ruined my career, ya know? Everything I've worked for. All down the drain. You screwed up, Riley, big time." By this point Riley started crying. "You're the reason Jeff left. And God knows when he's coming back." And with that, Matt slammed the door and was gone leaving Riley alone in the room still crying.  
  
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"I don't know what went wrong. Where I could've gone wrong. I had everything planned out perfectly. And then-nothing," Adam explained to a caring Jason.  
  
"What happened when it went wrong?" Jay asked worried about his best friend.  
  
"I'm not sure exactly. We were on the beach watching the sunrise. And then all of a sudden she went to kiss me." Jay gave Adam a surprised look. A look that said: Well? Don't leave me hanging… "I told her I didn't think it was the right time. She got mad and stormed to the limo and didn't talk to me the whole ride back."  
  
"Are you sure you didn't do anything else wrong?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well maybe she got a little offended that you didn't kiss her," suggested Jay.  
  
"That could be a possibility. But why would she get offended?"  
  
"I'm not sure. Women are confusing. The only thing I can say is, ask her."  
  
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Marky Chavez sat in his hotel room fooling around on his acoustic guitar. When out of nowhere, the phone rang. "Hello?" he asked.  
  
There was a couple of seconds of dead air until a girl asked, "Marky?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm Marky. Who's this?" Nothing. "Hello?"  
  
"It's Riley…Stratford."  
  
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Adam decided to call Riley. He picked up the phone and dialed her number. He only got the busy signal. Adam got frustrated and slammed the phone down.  
  
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"Oh hey, Riley. How's it going?" Marky asked as he set his guitar to this side. There was nothing on the other side. Then Riley let it go and just started to break down and cry. "Riley, what's wrong? Did something happen?"  
  
"Everything happened." Riley sniffled back the rest of her tears.  
  
"Do you want me to come over?" Marky offered.  
  
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After a while of walking around, Jeff finally decided to knock on Gregory's door. Gregory opened the door, to his surprise, to find Jeff. "Jeff, what are you doing here?"  
  
"Can I come in?"  
  
"Yeah. Sure. Of course." Gregory moved out of the way to let Jeff in. "So what are you doing here? I thought you would be hangin' in your hotel room." Jeff said nothing. "Is there something wrong?"  
  
"So how's it going, Gregory?" Jeff asked avoiding the question.  
  
"So there is something wrong."  
  
"Oh that's good. I'm glad to hear it."  
  
Gregory waved his hand in front of Jeff's face. "Hello? I know no one's usually home, but come on…"  
  
"Sorry, I'm kinda elsewhere."  
  
"Yeah I sorta guessed that. Do ya wanna talk about?"  
  
"There's nothing to talk about. I just wanted to see how you were doing, that's all. And I have, so now I'm going. Bye."  
  
Before Gregory could say 'bye' back, Jeff was out the door and headed to wander the streets again.  
  
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Jeff was walking in the middle of Times Square staring at the ground and his feet. Lost in his own thoughts he ran into what he thought was a perfect stranger. Jeff lifted his head to look at the person he ran into and apologize, when he realized it was Adam. "Oh, hey, Adam. Sorry, I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going."  
  
"It's okay, neither was I." There was an awkward silence between the two. Adam thought that Jeff knew what happened last night between him and Riley. And Jeff thought that Adam knew about what happened between him and Riley last night. That's why they thought each other were acting so strange.  
  
"So…how's Riley?" Adam asked breaking the ice.  
  
"I don't know," Jeff said trying to change the subject so he wouldn't have to go into the details of last night with Adam.  
  
"Well, I've…uh…gotta go. Yeah, that's it. I have to go," Adam said hurrying away. Jeff still dazed, continued to walk the streets of New York mindlessly. 


End file.
